1900 Anno Cinque: Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Touring: Stockholm 1901)

 

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Little Tich de Folies Bergère (1900). Harry Relph as Little Tich.

Bologna: Il Cinema Ritrovato: Century of Cinema: 1900
    With original recordings, grand piano interpretation by John Sweeney and Frank Bockius alla batteria.
    Introducono Manuela Padoan (Gaumont Pathé Archives) and Mariann Lewinsky.
    Viewed at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, 26 Aug 2020

THE PHONO-CINÉMA-THÉÂTRE TOURING (STOCKHOLM 1901)

Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato 2020): "Among the shows presented during the Paris Exposition, the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre is particularly interesting, both from the technical and artistic point of view. Its programmes mingled different genres: sound films synchronised with the phonograph (songs, monologues, extracts from plays), but also dances and pantomimes simply accompanied by a pianist or orchestra. There was also a sound-effects man and possibly a bonimenteur (narrator). The films were made in ‘playback’, like the later phonoscènes, using Henri Lioret’s Idéal phonograph, which could record four minutes on large cylinders. The synchronisation was manually controlled by the projectionists, who slowed or accelerated the phonographic cylinder as necessary. In 2011-2012 the Cinémathèque française and Gaumont Pathé Archives, in collaboration with Lobster Films, L’Immagine Ritrovata and the sound expert Henri Chamoux restored and reconstituted as far as possible the repertoire of the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre, with its original sound. The majority of the cylinders are conserved at the Musée de Radio-France in Paris. Chamoux perfected an apparatus to read and record cylinders that were in bad condition or even broken. The synchronisation was therefore once again possible. Keep your ears open: the sound is, as it was at then, far from perfect! And savour the pleasure of seeing, sometimes in colour, the élite of dance, theatre, pantomime and music- hall of the Belle Époque: Sarah Bernhardt, Jeanne Hatto, Benoît-Constant Coquelin, Little Tich, Cléo de Mérode, Jules Moy… Laurent Mannoni  Of the 39 films that made up the repertoire of the Phono-Cinéma-Theâtre, 13 were originally accompanied by recorded sound. Of these, an amazing 33 films and eight cylinders have been recovered and restored; they were presented first at the Giornate del Cinema Muto 2012, and subsequently elsewhere, neatly grouped by stage genre, in one fulllength programme. The only trace of an original programme for the 1900 Paris Exposition, comprising five films, seems to be a transcript published by Jacques Deslandes and Jacques Richard, in their unsurpassed Histoire comparée du Cinéma (Tome II, 1968, p. 68). In 1901-1902, the initiator and artistic director of the Phono-Cinéma- Théâtre, actress and dancer Marguerite Vrignault, toured with the show in Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Britain, Germany, Austria and Italy, and here we have detailed information about the contents and structure of the shows as flyers of two programmes presented in Germany in 1901 are in the Julien Anton collection on phonorama.fr, and the programme of a Stockholm show of the same year is reproduced in Desland and Richard, op. cit. The shows featured, with a few variations, 16-19 titles (out of 22 or about half of the repertoire), screened in two blocks of eight or nine films. They might begin or be completed by animated photographs from the Exposition or an actuality film – the Funeral of Queen Victoria (4 February 1901) or the Paris-Berlin Motor Carriage Race (27-29 June 1901). We present the first part of the programme screened in the Olympiateatern in Stockholm, since all its films are existing, plus a Gaumont newsreel of Queen Victoria’s funeral." Mariann Lewinsky (Il Cinema Ritrovato 2020)

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Danse directoire par Blanche et Louise Mante de l’Opéra (1900).

Danse directoire par Blanche et Louise Mante de l’Opéra.
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Blanche Mante, Louise Mante. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 2'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: Music only.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: La Poupée. Acte II scène XI chantée par Mlle Mariette Sully et Mm. Fugère et Soums (1900).

La Poupée. Acte II scène XI chantée par Mlle Mariette Sully et Mm. Fugère et Soums .
Sog.: François Coppée, Louis Mérante. F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. M.: Charles-Marie Widor. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Mariette Sully, Fugères, Soums. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 2'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: This scene inevitably evokes Ernst Lubitsch's Die Puppe, inspired by Hoffmann and Coppée.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Hamlet. William Shakespeare. Scène du duel jouée par Mme Sarah Bernhardt, M. Pierre Magnier et Mlle Suzanne Seylor (1900).

Hamlet. William Shakespeare. Scène du duel jouée par Mme Sarah Bernhardt, M. Pierre Magnier et Mlle Suzanne Seylor .
Sog.: dalla tragedia omonima di William Shakespeare. F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Sarah Bernhardt, Pierre Magnier, Suzanne Seylor. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: It is incongruous of the 56-year-old Sarah Bernhardt to cast herself as Hamlet, but art can transcend anything.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Le Maître de ballet. De e par M. Jules Moy du Chat Noir (1900).

Le Maître de ballet. De e par M. Jules Moy du Chat Noir.
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Jules Moy. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Bn.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: A delightful comedy number.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Danse javanaise par Mlle Cléo de Mérode (1900).

Danse javanaise par Mlle Cléo de Mérode.
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Cléo de Mérode. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Bn.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: A wonderful Javanese dance by Cléo de Mérode.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Obseques de la Reine Victoria en 1901. Cortège funèbre de militaires “horse guards” (1901).

Obseques de la Reine Victoria en 1901. Cortège funèbre de militaires “horse guards”.
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Bn
Year: 1901
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: Outside the main continuity of the programme, but also produced by Paul Decauville for Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: the majestic funeral of Queen Victoria.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Les Précieuses ridicules. Molière. Scène IX jouée par M. Benoît-Constant Coquelin aîné (Mascarille) et Mlles Marguerite Esquilar (Magdelon) et Jeanne Kervich (Cathos) (1900).

Les Précieuses ridicules. Molière. Scène IX jouée par M. Coquelin aîné et Mlles Esquilar et Kervich.
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Jeanne Kervich (Cathos), Marguerite Esquilar (Magdelon), Benoît-Constant Coquelin (Mascarille). Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: Very little is audible, yet a memorable impression is conveyed of Coquelin's Molière interpretation.

Little Tich de Folies Bergère . (See photo on top).
F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Harry Relph (Little Tich). Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: A priceless record of the great comedian Little Tich.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Iphigénie en Tauride. Invocation à Diana chanté par Mlle Jeanne Hatto de l’Opéra (1900).

Iphigénie en Tauride. Invocation à Diana chanté par Mlle Jeanne Hatto de l’Opéra.
Sog.: Nicolas-François Guillard. F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. M.: Christoph Willibald Gluck. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: Jeanne Hatto (Little Tich). Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 3'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: A fragile but deeply moving record of Jeanne Hatto singing Gluck's aria was skilfully reinforced by John Sweeney at the Steinway Concert Grand Piano.

Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre: Footit et Chocolat du Nouveau Circus. Entrée des echasses (1900). Avec George Footit (Footit), Rafael Padilla (Chocolat).

Footit et Chocolat du Nouveau Circus. Entrée des echasses.
Sog.: Nicolas-François Guillard. F.: Clément Maurice Gratioulet. Scgf.: Marguerite Vrignault. Int.: George Footit (Footit), Rafael Padilla (Chocolat). Prod.: Société anonyme du Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre (Paul Decauville). DCP. Col.
Year: 1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 2'
Print from: Gaumont Pathé Archives / La Cinémathèque française
    AA: Amazing acrobatics in Footit and Chocolat's comedy number.

AA: The best of the best of art and entertainment in the year 1900 was provided by Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre's super shows at the Paris World Exposition. Filmed on Parnaland stock with special perforations and recorded on fragile wax cylinders, the films have been extremely difficult to restore, but in 2012 that was achieved by Gaumont Pathé Archives and La Cinémathèque française. The premiere of the restoration took place in 2012 in Pordenone's Le Giornate del Cinema Muto with John Sweeney in charge of the musical interpretation, playing together with Frank Bockius and Romano Todesco. A film reconstruction experience of the highest order.

Today's selection based on the Stockholm leg of Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre's touring show was a brilliant digest. John Sweeney and Frank Bockius were at it again. It was amazing to listen to the Steinway Concert Grand Piano in pieces such as Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride. Already the first title, Danse directoire par Blanche et Louise Mante de l’Opéra, was enchanting, although the image was missing, and we heard the sound only.